My girlfriend and I have just finished booking our first trip to Japan and would love some feedback on our planned itinerary. We’ve found on previous trips, we would pack a lot into our days and would feel exhausted so I’m trying to avoid that as much as possible this time around.
Also, I’m a photographer and Japan is a dream location of mine to capture. So a lot of our plans are centred around sunrise or sunset for optimal lighting and fewer crowds.
**Day 1 (May 15th) – Tokyo**
Arrive at Narita airport around 3:30pm. Checking into hotel in Shinjuku and get something to eat. If we can fight the jet lag, we’ll explore a bit of Shinjuku before turning in.
**Day 2 (May 16th) – Tokyo**
We’re expecting to be jet lagged and will be up fairly early. Will take advantage and do some early morning photography in and around Meiji Shrine. The rest of the day would be spent exploring Shibuya and Shinjuku.
**Day 3 (May 17th) – Tokyo**
Likely another early morning, we’ll probably start at Tokyo tower before visiting Roppongi and Ginza, likely do some shopping before heading back to our hotel in the late afternoon. I’d like to be at the Roppongi hills observation deck for sunset and then we’d visit Shinbashi at night.
**Day 4 (May 18th) – Tokyo**
Start the day by heading over to Senso-ji temple.
(I understand Sanja Matsuri will be going on this weekend, not sure if there’s much going on in the morning? I’d like to see some of the festival but it’s not a priority. I’d just like to photograph the temple earlier in the day with some good lighting.)
For the rest of the day, we’d visit Akihabara, the Imperial Palace and would like to rent a boat at Chidorigafuchi Park.
We’d end the day by heading to Tokyo Skytree for sunset into blue hour to capture the cityscape (and hopefully a glimpse of Mt. Fuji).
**Day 5 (May 19th) – Tokyo – Osaka**
Forwarding our luggage, Checking out and taking the Shinkansen to Osaka. Still haven’t booked the tickets yet but I imagine we’d be arriving in Osaka around lunch.
Checking into our hotel in Chuo before heading out to see Osaka Castle. I’d like to be in Shinsekai for sunset before heading to Dotonbori for the Tonbori river cruise and then exploring the canal on foot for the rest of the night.
**Day 6 (May 20th) – Day Trip to Nara**
Would like to take the earliest train to Nara and spend the day there. Would likely be back in Osaka either before/after dinner. I expect us to be tired by then and more of a relaxed evening, maybe visiting Dotonbori again? Would welcome any suggestions for an alternative evening plan.
**Day 7 (May 21st) – Osaka – Kyoto**
Forward Luggage to Kyoto, Check out of hotel and visit any other things we might have missed on the first day.
Shinkansen to Kyoto, Checking into hotel in Higashiyama. No plans set in stone for this day, more of a day to explore and see what we find. Would spend sunset at Kiyomizu-dera. I also read that Kyoto gets very quiet and empty at night, would like to explore Higashiyama without all the crowds.
**Day 8 (May 22nd) – Kyoto**
Early morning at Fushimi Inari Shrine, I hear people really start to show up after 8am so we’d try to get there for 6am. Afterwards we’d head back to Higashiyama, Gion and fill the rest of our time visiting some temples.
**Day 9 (May23rd) – Kyoto**
Another Early morning, this time heading to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest for 5am. I’m really aiming to beat the crowds here. Afterwards we could head to the monkey park and the nearby Adashino Nenbutsu-ji temple. I’m not sure what else to fit in for the remainder of the day. We have a list of other temples to see and do some shopping. Any other suggestions for things to do on our last full day would be appreciated. I heard the Fushimi Sake District could be interesting?
**Day 10 (May 24th) – Kyoto – Tokyo**
Sunrise at Yasaka Pagoda before forwarding Luggage to Tokyo and checking out of hotel.
We’d again visit anything we might have missed on the previous days and take a later Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
Get to Tokyo around late afternoon, again staying in Shinjuku.
Will most likely stay in the area or head to Shibuya for some food and drinks.
**Day 11 (May 25th) – Tokyo**
Rest Day. With all the travelling, we’ll want a day where we can just go at our own pace.
**Day 12 (May 26th) – Day Trip to Mt Fuji**
This day trip is tricky for me, I’m listing it here, but it’s entirely dependant on the weather. I will move this to whichever day has the greatest chance of seeing Mt Fuji. We’d take the first express train out to Kawaguchiko and would visit Lake Kawaguchi, Chureito Pagoda and try to make it out to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival.
Still looking at options, possibly to rent a car in Kawaguchiko so we can get around much easier. I’m also considering making it an overnight trip so we can see Mt Fuji in the early morning. Possibly booking last minute at a capsule hotel or hostel.
**Day 13 (May 27th) – Day Trip to Kamakura**
This day trip is also flexible, we’ll move it around the Mt Fuji date(s) and Ideally a nice sunny day. We’d take an early morning train and explore the town for the day. There’s a lot we’d like to see and would like to end the day by the ocean for sunset, would take one of the last trains back.
**Day 14 (May 28th) – Tokyo**
**Day 15 (May 29th) – Tokyo**
This leaves us with 2 free days that we’d likely spend going back to places we missed or wanted to spend more time in.
We’ll visit Yokohama for the Cup Noodle Museum and Chinatown. (We’re sad the Gundam Factory will be gone by the time we visit lol)
We’re also planning to go to teamLab Borderless on one of these days.
**Day 16 (May 30th) – Tokyo – Home**
Flying out of Narita
And that’s it! I’m wondering if there’s anything I overlooked and whether there’s anything I could fit into my 2 last days that’s worthwhile? Thanks!
by Megalodong-